38 of 40 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Calvin Fitzgerald

User Experience: 7+ years

Submitted on: Mar 17, 2008

User Rating:

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Hi my name is Calvin,and my first metal detector was a Garrett GTAx 550. This is a awesome detector for any newbie to start out with. All you do is hit the power switch and the pre-set functions kick in and you are good to go.

The digital dial is very easy to read and the presets get you off and running faster than the lost " DUTCHMAN ". In the first week I found a lot of amazing lost items. The first thing i found was a old "Boy Scout Knife" under 6" of dirt along a big lake in my town. The knife was very old and may have been used by a would be fisherman years ago. I also found $12.64 in coins,7 rings, 1 necklace, a rusty cowboy belt buckle, 3 medallions, assorted pieces of junk, and a " HORSESHOE ". My first week was so much fun that my love for metal detecting has only grown.

This was just the beginning as the Garrett GTAx 550 allows you the option to go manual and create your own setting and that's when the real fun starts. I reset the settings for max-deep seeking and to detect in all metal, and I was amaze that this detector found items at 11" deep. Also in the all metal search, yes you pick up more junk but you find items that may have been missed by searching with the preset discrimination on.

All in all I rate this detector a 5 out of 5 because of the user friendly
controls, it's ability to search over 9" deep, and a price that's easy on the pocket.

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24 of 25 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Erik Schefler

User Experience: Newbie

Submitted on: Apr 16, 2008

User Rating:

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The Garrett GTAX 550 is an intermediate level detector and sells for about $500. The GTAX 550 has a pretty big LCD screen that shows battery life, operating mode, and target analyzer. The GTAX 550 weighs about 3.5 pounds, which can get pretty heavy after a long use. The GTAX 550 will take some time to learn and tune being that it is an intermediate level detector. I’d recommend watching the DVD that comes with it so you can quickly get a feel for it.

There are many things that I like about this detector. I like the fact that the target you are detecting is shown on the LCD screen. This is good because you have an idea of what you are detecting. I also like the non-motion automatic pinpointing feature. This allows you pinpoint exactly where the object is. Also, you spend less time digging and more time detecting! I also found that the GTAX 550 has great discrimination and rejection. It does of good job weeding out the junk.

What I don’t really love about the GTAX 550 is that it doesn’t really perform well at the beach. When I used it at the beach, the Target ID was jumping around was not accurate at all. I also don't like how heavy this detector is. Swinging around almost 4 pounds of weight on your arm for hours at a time is difficult for anyone. Another thing is that the manual is very long and kind of confusing. I recommend just watching the DVD and forgetting about the manual.

The GTAX 550 is a very well built detector. It's pinpointing is spot on and it discriminates out almost all of the junk. Even though there are a few minor things that I don't really like about it the pros out way the cons by far! But keep in mind that this is not a beginner level detector! It takes time to learn and practice. Overall, I really like the GTAX 550 and I'd give it 4 solid stars!

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22 of 22 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Steven Furbish

User Experience: 2-4 years

Submitted on: Mar 17, 2008

User Rating:

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The Garrett GTAx was my first detector. As a learning detector it proved well suited to the task of providing an economical yet easy to use device. Discrimination is better than one would expect from a sub $500 machine and right out of the box I rarely found myself digging junk.

I mostly like to coinshoot so selecting the default mode proved to work well enough to get started and then you can use the "set disk" on the touchpad to fine-tune out the trash that's common to your hunting area. The belltone audible signal is great at letting you know when something worthwhile passes under the coil. Large and mid-sized silver coins are rarely false hits. I pulled out a 1906 Barber Half from a foot of soft soil the second time out with the Garrett.

One complaint I do have is the pinpoint function is somewhat useless based on my experiences with it, but since most people who take a liking to coinshooting end up buying a pinpointer that's really not a big deal. The hip mounting battery pack does make a difference if you spend more than a few hours out at a time. It really is amazing how heavy even a lightweight detector seems after swinging and digging for a half day. Putting those eight AA batteries on the hip will be appreciated unless you work very short intervals.

Battery life is about what you'd expect. I generally rely on the graphic LCD analyzer and a cheap set of headphones because if you use the built-in speaker the GTAx will eat batteries really quick. I've used other detectors since buying the Garrett, but I've yet to find one that gives a truly better success rate without costing three or four times as much. I'd highly recommend the GTAx for all coinshooters.

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21 of 21 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Lloyd Draper

User Experience: 7+ years

Submitted on: Apr 14, 2008

User Rating:

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Detecting off and on for over forty years, I have upgraded metal detectors several times trying to have one of the top of the line machines available at that time. The prices of those machines have risen with time and the cost of even a good starter detector has now begun to get out of range for the average beginner.

I have two Garrett GTAX 550 detectors that I have used when the expensive ones have crashed or at hunts when I want a light, easy to use machine.

When friends have shown an interest in detecting, I bring out the GTAX 550 and give them a quick overview of its operation. Then I loan it to them for use on their vacations or other detecting opportunities.

The GTAX 550 has a meter which shows target identification and an audio signal which changes between coins and unwanted materials. It uses a notch system of discrimination which also shows up on the meter. The setup for discrimination is quick, simple and easily changed when needed.

There are no knobs since it uses touch pads for all tuning operations. My two granddaughters have used the machines in organized hunts, with great success, because of the light weight and ease of use. I take the 550 with me as a backup machine and at times have had opportunities to hunt a yard and after getting the owners permission offering the owner the use of the Garrett because of it's ease of operation. I would give this machine a 5 star rating because of these features.

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16 of 18 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Jasper Tramonte

User Experience: 2-4 years

Submitted on: Apr 16, 2008

User Rating:

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Before I selected a detector, I went hunting with a good friend that owned several detectors. The site was an old 1929 homestead. The Garrett GTAx 550 detector was the second one I experimented with. After a one minute overview, to explain how to read the LCD target ID's and depth, and electric pinpointing, I turned it on and found a silver dime and the lead part of a bullet in the same hole in less than one minute. This was fantastic. I was and am HOOKED!

After I bought my detector, I watched the video several times before using it. I found it easy to understand the technology at my finger tips. I liked the last mode switching, so I didn't forget my last setting, and the notch discrimination. When my wife lost an ear ring, I set the discrimination for one ear ring and made it a lot easier to find in a "trashy" area.

The more I use my detector, the better I get.

I found out the head phones are very important in hunting, and bought a good set. I take my detector with me whenever I go on a vacation or business trip. I have hunted in Texas, Wisconsin and Virginia, where I ran into "hot rocks'. I have found coins, square nails, a pocket watch, old wagon parts from the 1800's, and lots of unidentified items.

I plan to retire soon so I can hunt the beaches of Galveston, Texas. I think this is an excellent detector and have recommended it to my family and friends. After I "outgrow" this one, I will give it to my wife, and buy a more expensive model. This unit was priced correctly for my budget as a "starter detector"!

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